Ronaldinho's future to be decided in 72 hours

MADRID, July 14 (Reuters) - Barcelona and Brazil forward Ronaldinho have given themselves 72 hours to decide upon the player's future following a meeting at the Nou Camp on Monday,
the Primera Liga club said.

Ronaldinho and his brother and agent Roberto de Assis flew
into the city on Monday to hold talks with Barcelona, with AC
Milan and Manchester City the two clubs competing for the
player's services.

'The two parties have agreed to give themselves two or three
days to close the transfer of the player to one of the clubs
interested in landing the Brazilian,' Barca said in a statement
on their website.

'If no agreement is reached over this period, the player
will join up with the rest of the squad for training.'
Earlier in the day, Spanish media reported an offer of 32
million euros ($50.27 million), plus variables, was on the table
from the English Premier League club, which Barca president Joan
Laporta confirmed in an interview.

'(Ronaldinho and his agent) have two interesting proposals
and they are leaning more towards the one from Manchester City,'
Laporta told Catalunya Radio.

'We hope to be able to resolve the situation this week.'

Ronaldinho is reported by local media to prefer a move to
Milan, though their offer is lower than City's.

Milan's chief executive Adriano Galliani also flew in to
Barcelona on Monday to try and convince the Brazilian to join
the Serie A side. A meeting between all three parties was
reportedly due to be held later on Monday.

Ronaldinho, 28, missed the pre-season fitness tests that
started on Monday morning under new coach Pep Guardiola, as he
arrived in the afternoon for the meetings.

Barcelona had said they had expected Ronaldinho to turn up
to begin the season with the rest of the squad despite Guardiola
having announced that the playmaker was surplus to requirements.

The Catalan side had also said they were not prepared to
release Ronaldinho to join Dunga's Brazil squad for next month's
Beijing Olympics. Dunga has included him as an over-age player.

Ronaldinho, who shone when Barca won back-to-back league
titles and the European Cup in 2006, suffered fitness and injury
problems last season, dropping out of first-team contention.

As part of their move to galvanise the team ahead of next
season, after two years without silverware, Barcelona have made
it clear the former World Player of the Year is not wanted but
have found it difficult to off-load him.